Judges determine best-tasting tap water at Dallas convention

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Michael Ainsworth/Staff Photographer

From left: Alan Davis, Russell Ford, Clarice Tinsley and Ari Copeland judge the finalist in the American Water Works Association conference's "Best of the Best" tap water contest at the Dallas Convention Center.

Professional taste testers judged the clean, crisp flavors of melted snow and rain from the groundwater wells of Fremont, Neb., to be the nation’s best-tasting tap water Tuesday during a water-works convention in Dallas.

The weeklong conference of the American Water Works Association brought together about 10,000 water-utility workers to learn about water technology used around the world. The event at the Dallas Convention Center features over 500 exhibits on subjects ranging from biofiltration to recycling options for water treatment.

“There are people from throughout the water industry here who may work in the management, treatment or delivery of water,” said Greg Kail, spokesman for the association.

Damion Lampley, operations manager for D.C. Water in Washington, D.C., said he was focused on asset management.

“I mainly came to see all the different products that are out there and to see what other jurisdictions are doing with some of their programs,” Lampley said. “I now realize that we need to get an asset management team on board to protect our assets. We’ve got a long way to go, and there’s definitely room for improvement.”

Convention activities include a pipe tapping contest on Wednesday, in which top utility teams from across the country will race to tap a cement-lined, ductile iron pipe.

And then there’s the “Best of the Best” Water Taste Test, where 22 teams from around the country competed for the cleanest-tasting tap water. The teams previously competed on a local level and advanced to compete on the national level. (Dallas was not among the top teams.)

Four judges made up the tasting committee and began the blind tasting in a preliminary round.

“You relate the taste to a flavor wheel, which contains different palates of sweet, sour or bitter,” said Russell Ford, a judge and drinking-water expert who is a vice president with CH2M HILL. “It’s like wine tasting where you taste it, and get your feeling of what it tastes like.”

Fremont Water Utility placed first and will receive a plaque and a celebratory water cup to recognize its title as “Best of the Best.” Second place was awarded to Jordan Valley Water District of Herriman, Utah, and third place went to Arcadia Water of Arcadia, Wis.

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